

Example:

> 美人じゃなくて悪かったですね！ (sarcastic)

compared to someone who is using a room and is told `あんまり広い部屋じゃなくて悪いな`

Or for example the difference between 無事でよかった and I can't think of the
corresponding for just いい, but I'm sure you understand my question.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-18T15:20:38.420
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2017-07-11T14:20:37.927
2015-05-15T08:39:21.870
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question
grammar modality
Usage of plain i-adjectives or た form (悪かったｖ悪い、良かったｖいい etc）


**_Modal vs. Present Tense vs. Past Tense_**

> 「[美人]{びじん}じゃなくて[悪]{わる}かっ **た** ですね！」 = "Too bad I'm not such a beauty!"

That is called 「ムードの『た』」 = **the "modal 'ta'",** not the past tense 'ta'.
**_It is used when one's expectation has just matched or failed to match
reality._**

The female speaker of the sentence above knows that the male listener has
expected her to be pretty, but he has just found out that she is not so. In
this situation, the speaker will use 「悪かっ **た** 」 = "Too bad!", not 「悪い」, even
though it is happening at the present moment.

> 「あんまり[広]{ひろ}い[部屋]{へや}じゃなくて悪いな。」 = "Sorry this is not such a big room!"

In this case, 「悪い」 is in the plain present tense = "Sorry about that!". The
speaker knows, as well as the listener, that the listener was in no position
to expect a large room in the first place.

For comparison, here is an example of the past-tense 「悪かった」.

> 「あの[時]{とき}は、いい部屋が[空]{あ}いてなくて[本当]{ほんとう}に悪かった。」 = "At that time, I was really
> sorry that we didn't have a nice room available (for you)."

「あの時」 alone should tell us that this sentence is about a time in the past.

* * *

「[無事]{ぶじ}でよかった。」 = "I am (or was) relieved to find out (something) is (or was)
OK."

Without further context, it is impossible to tell whether this is the modal
'ta' or the past-tense 'ta'. It would, however, be safe to say that this
phrase is more often used when one has just found out that something/someone
is OK -- in other words, within the modal 'ta' territory = "I **am** relieved
~~".

* * *

**Other examples of the modal 'ta'** :

When you have just found an item you have been looking for, you will say 「あっ
**た** 」, not 「あ **る** 」.

If it is a person that you have found, you will say 「い **た** 」, not 「い **る**
」.


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2015-01-20T01:41:32.250
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answer


The past tense and the present tense can both be used to express the feelings
of the speaker:

> ご親切にどうもありがとう **ございました** 。
>
> ご親切にどうもありがとう **ございます** 。
>
> = Thank you so much for your kindness.

Both can be used in the same situation but each will carry a different nuance
:

The former insists on the fact that it is the achievement of the action that
is the cause of the feelings of the speaker.

The latter insists on what the speaker is feeling at the time he is speaking
rather than on the action that caused those feelings.


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2015-01-20T01:52:10.730
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2015-01-22T14:41:26.767
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer